Post-sharpener



C. C. ADAMS. POST SHARPENER.

APPLICATION FILED MAYH,1920.

Patented 0011111920.

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POST SHARPENER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 11, 1920.

Patented 001;. 19, 1920.

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PATENT OFFICE.

mm. c. ADAMS, or LoYALroN, sou'rrr DAKOTA. i

POST-SHARPENER.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, CEoIL C. ADAMS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Loyalton, in the county of Edmonds and State of South Dakota, have invented acertain new and useful Post-Sharpener, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a post sharpener of simple, durable and inexpensive construction, whereby the ends of wooden posts may quickly and readily be sharpened. r 1 P It will be understood that in certainlocalities, the formation ofthe earthis such, that fence posts are driven into the ground rather than digging a hole and setting them in. My device is so adapted that theend of the post will be sharpened withsuch accuracy that it will tend to hold .thepost absolutely vertical, while it is beingdriven into the ground.

More particularly, it is my object to provide a post sharpener, having cutting rollers thereon for engaging one end of thepost,v

and having a post gripping device for en gaging the free end of the post and holding it against rotation or movement in any direction. o 1

Still a further object is to provide a post sharpener, havingconverging cutting rollers and a guide device placed between the rollers, whereby the end of the post designed'to be sharpened may be guided or Another object of my invention is toprO- vide power driven cutting rollers and an automatically moving feed mechanism, whereby the feeding mechanism will operate when the cutting rollers are operated, and a clutch device provi ded-,whereby it is possible to render the/cutting rollers inoperative,:when it is desired to reverse theoperation of the feeding, mechanism, and cause it to be moved back to its original position.

Still another object is to provide anauto- I Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 0 1 619, 1920. Application filed May 11, 1920. Serial Nb. 380,678. i

matically' feeding mechanism and a pair of converging rollers, having a guide device spaced between them, the rollers being adapted to, rotate upon their axis, and also to travel around the guide device.

fWith these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts ofthe device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in'my claim,

and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which;

gure'1 shows a side elevation of -my devlce.

- Fig. 2 shows a top view of the same. 7

F ig; 3 shows a central, sectional view taken on .line 33 of Fig. 1, showing the gear teeth for causing the cutting rollers to operate, when power is applied to the pulley wheel. 1

Fig. 4 shows a central, sectional view taken on line of Fig. 1," showing the bearings for supporting the front end of the guide device and cutting rollers.

Fig. 5 shows a central, sectional view taken on line;55 of. Fig. 2, showing the gear connections between the drive shaft and theautomatic feeding rod, 1

Fig; .6, shows a central, sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 2, showing the entire device cut in section.

Fig. 7 shows an enlarged, sectional view of the converging cutting rollers and the guide device; and I,

Fig.8 shows a sectional view through the automatic feeding mechanism, and the post gripping devices. 1

In the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate the ordinary base or frame member of my device.

Thebase or framemember 10 is bolted or rigidly secured to a suitable: platform by t,

means of the lag screwsll. ,Extending upwardly and substantially in alinement with each other are supporting columns 12, 13,

and 14:.

Slightly spacedabove thebase orframe '10 and secured to the columns 12 and 13 ing member 16, which has the upwardly extending fingers 17 and 18. A bracket 19 extends upwardly from the column 14, and is provided near its upper end with a bearing cap 20.

The bracket 19 provides a bearing for the drive shaft 21, which is provided with a pulley wheel 22.

Fixed on the upper end of the column 13 is the hollow drum member or casing 23. The drum 23 is provided with a hub 24, in which is the central opening 25.

A shaft 26 extends through the opening '25 of the hub 24, and is provided near its rear end with a clutch member 27. The shaft 21 is also provided near its forward end with a coacting clutch member 28, The clutch member 28 is slidably but non-rotatably fixed on the shaft 21.

Extending rearwardly from the drum 23 is the bracket 29. A clutch control lever 30 is pivoted at 31 to the bracket 29. The clutch member 28 is providedw'ith an an nular groove 32, in whichis received the bifurcated portion of the clutch control lever 30.

The forward end of the shaft 26 is provided with an enlarged head portion 34.

Extending upwardly from the table member 15 is the bracket 35, which forms a support or bearing for the guide device 36. A hearing cap 37 extends over the upper end of the bracket 35. The guide device, 36 is provided with a central opening 38, which is designed to receive the end of the wooden post, which is designed to be sharpened.

Journaled in the guide device 36 and in the head portion 34 of the shaft 26 are the cutting roller shafts 39 and 40.

Botatably mounted on the shafts 39 and 40 are the cutting rollers 41 and 42. Formed on the device and fixed to the head portion 34 of the shaft 26 are the connecting bars 43.

From the construction of the parts heretofore described, it will be seen that when power is applied to the pulley wheel 22, and the clutch is in operative position, rotation of the pulley wheel will impart rotation to the shaft 26 and to the guide de' vice 36.

The drum 23 is provided with gear teeth 44. The rear end of the cutting rollers 41 and 42 are provided with gear teeth 45 and 46 respectively. The gear teeth 45 and 46 of the cutting'rollers 41 and 42 are designed travel around the post and at the same time, the cutting rollers are continuously rotated upon their own shafts.

I will now describe the automatic feeding mechanism and the post gripping device.-

Fixed on the shaft 21 is the worm wheel 47, which is in mesh with the worm 48. The worm 48 is fixed to the shaft 49. Mounted on the lower end of the shaft 49 is a worm wheel 50, which is in mesh with the worm 51.

Journaled in the fingers 17 and 18 of the bearing member 16 is the rod 52. The worm 51 is placed between the fingers 17 and 18 of the bearing member 16, and is fixed to the rod 52.

From the construction of the gearings just described, it will be seen that the shaft 21 will impart rotation to the rod 52.

Slidably mounted on the table member 15 is the supporting member .53, which is provided with a central screw-threaded opening 54. The table member 15 is provided with overlapping tongues 55, which are designed to be received in the grooves 56 of the supporting member 53.

The rod 52 is screw-threaded at 54" near 2 its forward end, and is designed to be re the supporting member 53.

It will be noted that rotation of the rod 52 in either direction will cause the supporting member 53 to be moved in either direction.'

Fixed on the upper surface of the supporting member 53 is what I call a post gripping device 58. The post gripping de vice 58, comprises the portion 59, which is fixed to the supporting member 53, and a double hinged yoke portion 60. The hinged portions 60 are provided with an overlapping locking portion 61.

The post gripping deviceis made of resilient material, whereby the parts may be sprung to locking position.

In order to positively lock the post against any rotation whatsoever, when the cutting rollers are operating, I have provided a crank member 62, which is screwthreaded into the fixed member 59 of the gripping device 58. The crank 62 is provided with a sharpened point 63 and a handle 64. When the post is placed in the gripping device, I am then able to absolutely lock it in position by tightening the crank member 62, until the point 63 ex tends into the wooden post about to be sharpened.

In the practical operation of my device, it will be noted that the hinged yoke members 60 are opened and the post is then placed into the opening 38 of the guide de' vice 36, while the other end ispermitted to rest in the post gripping device. The crank 62 is then tightened, thereby locking the post in proper position.

When power is applied to the pulley wheel 22, and the clutch is in operative position, the cutting rollers will rotate, while the rod 52 will draw the supporting member 53 toward the cutting rollers, and thus cause the post to be automatically fed in between the cutting rollers.

After the post has been sharpened, the

power is then turned off, and the post gripping device is released, then the post can readily and easily be withdrawn from the opening 38 of the guide device 36.

In order to remove the supporting member 53 and to place the gripping device back to its original position, that is the position where it will be when the new post is about to be sharpened, the clutch members will be disengaged, and by reversing the direction of the rotation of the pulley wheel 22 will cause the gripping device to be moved away from the cutting rollers and back to its original or starting position.

It will be. understood that with my device, posts may be readily and easily sharpened efiiciently, so that they may be driven into the ground without much trouble.

Another advantage is that I am able to automatically feed the post in between the cutting rollers gradually, so that the eflect of the cutting rollers upon the post will not tend to crush it or split it, as would be the case, if the post were suddenly pushed in between the cutting rollers.

By making the cutting rollers travelfl around the post and at the same time rotate upon their own shafts, I am able to get a fine even taper on the post, which is very important, when it is desired to use the post for driving it into the ground.

Some changes may be made in. the construction and arrangement of my improved device without departing from the real purpose and spirit of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

In a device of the class described a base, having a bearing member thereon, a shaft rotatably mounted therein, a supporting platform on said base, a pair of converging cutting rollers operatively connected with said shaft, a guide device spaced between said cutting rollers and fixed to one end of said shaft, a bearing member for supporting the free end of said guide device, the parts being so arranged that rotation of the shaft will impart rotation to said guide device and rotation of said cutting rollers in dependent of the rotation of the guide device, a member slidably mounted on said supporting platform, means for moving said last member toward or from the guide device, said means including a rod having a screw threaded portion thereon, said last portion being received in said slidablememher and gearings between said shaft and said rod, whereby rotation of said shaft in either direction will impart sliding movement to said member in either direction.

Des Moines, Iowa, April 22, 1920.

CECIL C. ADAMS. 

